Developers to build gym in place of burned-down Safeway in Phoenix

PHOENIX – The site of a Phoenix strip mall grocery store that went up in flames a year ago will get another life as a fitness club, developers have said.

Scottsdale-based SimonCRE said this week the onetime Safeway at 35th and Northern avenues has been planned as a Vasa gym.

The commercial developer posted a flyer online and listed close proximity to Interstate 17 and population of the area as highlights for the 60,000-square-foot proposed gym.

ABC15 reported about $18 million would be invested in renovations to the entire shopping center, which includes a Chuck E. Cheese’s and a Chase Bank branch.

Safeway said a month after the store burned down July 11, 2018, that it would not rebuild at the Park Northern location.

A spokeswoman said at the time the decision came “after several weeks of thorough discussions and much deliberation.”

No one was injured in the early morning blaze that began in a back room. The roof caved in as fire crews began working.

The store had been part of the neighborhood for more than 30 years.

Renovations to the 15 acres were expected to be finished by the first half of 2021.

SimonCRE specializes in “ground-up development, single-tenant build to suit projects, and redevelopment of distressed properties,” according to its LinkedIn profile.

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